The Long-term Safety and Effectiveness of Low-Carbohydrate Diets :: Health Nutrition Diet Exercise Essays

As the obsession with losing weight continues, many people are turning to low-carbohydrate feeds such as the Atkins diet. With total book sales over 45 million, many doctors are starting to ask questions about the safety of a laid-back fat, high protein diet. There have been many short-term studies reporting that a low-carbohydrate diet can be effective for weight loss. Unfortunately, most studies have been based on data collected for 90 days or less. Dieters and Doctors alike could benefit from long-term studies reporting on safety and weight loss after a year or to a greater extent than. In 2003, there were three trials reporting on the long-term effectiveness and side effects of the Atkins diet. These studies followed obese dieters who were following the Atkins low-carbohydrate diet. The results were then compared to the ensample low-fat diet, which has been recommended by doctors for years. From the results of these studies we must decide if weight loss equals health and wha t should be considered acceptable risk? Weight loss was the primary focus of most of the studies through with(p) on the Atkins diet. Dieters are looking for results and a decrease in weight, not necessarily fat, is the ultimate goal. All three studies showed greater weight loss after six months of a low-carbohydrate diet than the same time spent on a low-fat diet. On average low-carbohydrate dieters lost about 4kgs, or roughly 9lbs, more than the low-fat dieters. This is one reason why the Atkins diet has become so popular dieters see results more quickly. Many people are only on the diet for a few months and then go back to eating normally. For those that stick with it, it was found that after twelve months there was no longer a meaningful difference in weight loss between the low-fat and the low-carbohydrate groups. Although result happened quickly, in the long run the Atkins diet didnt prove to be any more effective at weight loss than the low-fat diet. Studies of more than a year are nearly non-existent and the studies referred to here contain flaws. More research needs to be done before we can reach a definitive answer. At the moment, it seems that for the first 3-6 months the Atkins diet may be more effective than a low-fat diet. In the long term however there is no indication that a low-carbohydrate diet is better. For both diets, participants had trouble following the guidelines and many